บท 78: Lessons in Image
No, it was far better Harry die in a face-off with Tom and the trio survive to rally the people to his banner once more. Albus knew they could be made to quietly disappear once they had served their purpose and the Wizarding World was firmly under his control. Headhunters did serve a purpose in this world after all. And they really didn't care why they were hired.
Just that you have a clear image of the target who's head you wanted them to hunt and the money to pay their fare. No one would ever miss them because none of them had anything to truly set themselves apart from the masses. Well their parents would but that was normal and eventually they'd get over it.
The run-around he had gone through at the bank left him grouchy and out of sorts when he returned to the Castle. He'd had to go from teller to teller and office to office. He felt as though he'd walked miles and knew it had taken him several days to accomplish what little business he'd managed to get done.
He wasn't a happy camper when he'd finally left the Bank footsore and weary to the bone. It made him even more unhappy to know he'd have to go back on the first of next month and more than likely go through much the same rigamarole he'd gone through this time.
He hadn't gotten exactly what he wanted from the goblins either which only added to his unhappiness. But since he had received some coin he didn't believe his failure was Harry's doing. Just bad luck that there hadn't been as much coin as he needed available at the time he was cleared through the channels.
And damn but those were some convoluted channels. Probably due to the audit. What he really didn't understand is why exactly the goblins were doing the audit now. They'd never done one before. But hopefully when he went back on the first it would be completed and he could set up his automatic payment schedule again. It'd be nice not to have to worry about his money and paying his bribed people again.
Still, he wasn't prepared for the change that had occurred during his absence. Instead of the children all either bad-mouthing or mocking Harry if they weren't outright ignoring him, he found his three bought and paid for plants were the ones being ostracized and all three bore strange new marks on their faces.
He frowned in consternation. What did they have to go and do something like that to themselves for? Well, if nothing else at least he knew why their fellow students were ostracizing them.
He couldn't understand just what they were trying to prove by disfiguring themselves like that but at least they'd get the idea from their peers about how stupid an idea it was and never do it again. He dismissed it as just another of those weird childish phases they'd outgrow as soon as they realized no other students would copy it. And of course, it went without saying he'd add his own disapproval to the queue. Their new adornment was truly unsightly.
He never understood why teenagers always had to go trying to change things. The human body was perfectly fine the way nature had formed it. The world was fine the way nature had planned it. Just as society was fine the way Magic and he had designed it. It had all lasted for hundreds of years now and would last for hundreds more to come.
Idly, he wondered if Harry had anything to do with his children's decision to mar their faces right now. James certainly would've seen convincing the children to do something like this as a wonderful prank. At least Minerva should be in a better attitude towards the boy now.
She was always claiming he was such a disappointment in not taking more after James. Or by trying to live up to his father but choosing dangerous stunts to pull instead of funny harmless pranks. She never saw the things James did as dangerous though Albus knew some of the things the Marauders pulled were very dangerous indeed.
Consequently all the things Harry did she saw as shaming his father's memory instead of the life saving adventures they actually were. Albus knew James would've been very proud of his son. But this. Yes, this was something James would have done to his peers. And like James' would've been, Albus noticed Harry's own face was unmarred except for that lightening bolt scar.
He wondered how long it would take his children to remove the marks now that they were being shunned by their peers for them. But it wouldn't only be their peers cutting them dead, as the children say.
Anyone who saw them with it was bound to discriminate against them. Especially young Ronald. Why on earth did he choose a Betrayer's symbol as part of his body art? He would definitely be having words with that boy as that was just plain stupid.
Too stupid really. Didn't he bother to learn about the artwork before applying it to himself? Any first year runes book could have told him that symbol was a bad choice. Ms. Granger should have told him that mark was a bad choice.
He wondered if she had and Ronald had simply chosen not to listen again. He did that quite frequently really. So did Albus actually. The girl was sometimes just too bossy and highhanded in her ways.
But as they were, his face to their age group, he simply couldn't let it slide. He'd have to weigh in on the matter as well. They had to present the right image and say the right things lest his popularity not carry over to the next generation. Image was everything and it was time his children learned that.
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